Buenos Aires, Mar 16 (IANS): Argentine football club Independiente, winners of the Copa Sudamericana, on Thursday beat Colombia's Millonarios 1-0 in a group G match of the Copa Libertadores.

In a closely fought match, Martin Benitez scored the only goal in the 23rd minute to secure his team's first victory in the 2018 edition of the tournament, reports Efe.

After losing to Deportivo Lara in Venezuela, the club, managed by Ariel Holan, played decisively in front of a home crowd to beat the Colombians, who had played a goalless draw against Brazil's Corinthians in their first outing.

The Argentine side played on the offensive right from the start of the first half, repeatedly trying to get the ball past Millonarios goalie, the Venezuelan Wilker Farinez.

After three missed chances, Benitez finally took advantage of an accurate pass to shoot past Farinez on the right.

Millonarios attempted to fight back in the second half, with Roberto Ovelar, Santiago Monotoya and Christian Huerfano trying to break in with mid-range shots, but the Independiente defence stood its test.

Independiente are now set to play against group leader Corinthians on April 18 while Millonarios will play against host Deportivo Lara a day earlier in the third round of matches in Group G of the Copa Libertadores.